Custos in Elementis
by Noxlux013
Summary: An Ancient Shrine. An Unexpected Responsibility. An Unknown Power. Being sent into the forest to "Meditate on the Wind" has surprising results for our favorite blonde. Results that will both change his life and shake the shinobi world to its core. And this is just the beginning...
1. Chapter 1

Naruto... was bored.

It had been almost a year since the Sannin-student duo began this three year training trip and all he had learned so far was to finally form the Rasengan one-handed and make it a bit bigger. Impressive, yes, but just a spinning ball of doom was not going to be enough to beat Sasuke down enough to drag him back to Konoha.

Naruto had an epiphany as the Chidori pierced his lung: Sasuke didn't care. Not about him, not about Konoha, and not about Sakura-chan. If it hadn't been for the Rasengan's rotation knocking Sasuke off target, it wouldn't have been his lung that was shredded-it would have been it heart.

So, while he would honor his promise to bring Sasuke back, next time he wouldn't be so worried about any injuries Sasuke might end up with and focus more on not getting another matching scar.

Unfortunately, he was starting to think he would never be able to get to that level of power that Sasuke had demonstrated so easily, not without the Kyuubi's power.

And that is where the current problem lay.

Jiraiya had only planned on teaching him how to harness the Kyuubi's power. For the whole three years. Despite not having a clue on how to teach Naruto the proper way to harness his personal bijuu battery.

Oh, sure he spent the first six months or so forcing the entire academy curriculum into Naruto's head as a refresher and made sure he knew the basics. This being Jiraiya, knowing the basics consisted of being able to do both the Henge and the Kawarimi no Jutsu without any hand seals. The Bunshin would have had similar requirements, but luckily Jiraiya agreed that Naruto's chakra control sucked. Instead Naruto was forced to be able to perform the Kage Bunshin sans hand seals as well and choose exactly how many clones to make rather than just spamming them everywhere.

That was when the current problem showed up. Naruto didn't want to use Kyuubi's chakra. In his eyes it was a crutch, a shortcut. If he was going to take Sasuke down and bring him back it would be with _his_ power damn it! Not some fuzz ball living in his belly button.

Jiraiya hadn't planned for that. He had no scrolls, no training equipment, no weights. Sure he could create gravity and weight seals, but to do so he needed a sterile room. Most civilian hospitals don't let strange men use their operating room for a doodle session. Messing up a gravity seal would, at best, just crush whatever or whoever it was attached to. Worst case scenario was the creation of a black hole. Yeah.

Currently Naruto was sitting in the hotel room they had rented for the day in a small town just inside the borders of Whirlpool. After all, everyone knows Uzushio had been razed to the ground and picked clean, so there really wasn't any reason for ninja to be there. Jiraiya had just left to send a message to Tsunade about getting some scrolls and equipment to use, or peeping at the local hot springs. S-ranked ninja, toddler ranked attention span.

"Screw this, I'm not sitting on my butt feeling sorry for myself. If I did that I'll end up like Sasuke!"

Naruto jumped off the bed and leaped off the balcony, roof-jumping his way out of the small village.

He kept a steady pace and soon arrived at the outskirts of town, where man made structures stopped and the forest began.

The villagers had some pretty strange stories about the forest that surrounded him. They said nature was more awake, or something. Jiraiya had dismissed it out of hand, claiming every little village and town had the same stories, a way to attract tourists. But walking among these silent sentinels, Naruto was starting to think the villagers were on to something.

Naruto shook off those thoughts as he came to a wide clearing deep in the woods.

"Alright! Let's get to work!"

With a clap of his hands, the clearing erupted in a puff of smoke that faded to reveal the clearing swarming with shadow clones. When Jiraiya had been putting him through the remedial academy curriculum, something caught his attention when they went over math; anything multiplied by zero equaled zero. This got him to thinking. He had always been the Dobe, the Dead Last, a literal zero. The Kage Bunshin was a multiplying technique. Now he wasn't a Zero, but he still wanted to get the most out of his signature Jutsu.

Before he had just spammed clones and had them rush headlong into the fray, wasting chakra left and right. Because he had done this, any one clone rarely lasted for more than a minute. This resulted in him never noticing the memory transfer aspect of the Kage Bunshin, especially in battle. That changed when Jiraiya made him practice the Kage Bunshin by making him create a random amount of clones, anywhere from a solitary clone to a couple hundred. During this training Naruto kept getting flashes of seeing himself from different angles. When Jiraiya finally explained just what was happening, Naruto ended up kicking his ass into the women's side of the hot springs they had been relaxing at.

Now that he knew the secret of the Kage Bunshin, Naruto would frequently use them to practice war games and group tactics by placing them in groups of three with a leader and having them spar, just like a true shinobi team. Meanwhile others were practicing chakra control with everything from leaf spinning, tree climbing and water walking to creating stilts out of the water, walking around with rocks stuck to their bodies by chakra, and balancing on the tip of a kunai that had been stuck ring first in the ground by creating a pad of chakra between their finger and the kunai. Those had to be replaced a lot. The final group of clones were the ones that needed their numbers replenished the least; they were practicing calligraphy. Naruto's handwriting was quite simply, atrocious. Considering that before Iruka-sensei no one bothered to correct him, his handwriting was barely on par with an eight year old's. Not only was learning to write an important part of being a ninja, but good calligraphy was vital for learning fuinjutsu. One smudged line could be the difference between a seal to keep your ramen warm and a seal that would blow your arm off.

Amid this scene of controlled chaos was the original blonde, doing what his clones couldn't. Physical training.

During a stay at a town near Wave, Naruto had found something interesting. While only ninja villages like Konoha and Suna had true shinobi stores that sold ninja grade weapons and equipment, most curio shops in civilian cities had items scavenged from old battlefields or sold by rogue ninja. In that particular town Naruto had found that many Iwa ninja, after sacking Uzushio, had sold their spoils in the immediate area because the supply lines couldn't get the troops their pay fast enough. Over time the various pieces of art, equipment, and artifacts congregated to one place, that particular town. Jiraiya managed to get permission from Tsunade to purchase all of it and sent it to Konoha to form an Uzushio Museum as a way of reminding the current generation of Konoha's old allies. Included in the shipment were quite a few scrolls with information on Jutsu that had been exclusively used by Uzushio shinobi. Obviously Naruto couldn't keep them and there was no way he was carrying around that many copies either. In the end he only copied a single scroll, with the understanding that he could have copies of the others when his training was over.

Naruto had decided to copy a Taijutsu scroll as his own Taijutsu was... nonexistent. Yelling and swinging your fists might work in a bar room brawl, but despite what some thought, the legal drinking age was still sixteen. The Taijutsu style he had chosen was known as Natural Harmony. It had four separate paths that according to the scroll could be combined once mastered. The Air kata was based on dodging enemy attacks before then counter attacking. The Earth kata focused on letting your enemies break themselves on your immovable defense. The Water kata was deflecting enemy attacks and controlling the flow of battle. The Fire kata was full of powerful strikes, meant to break through any defense and aimed to cripple an enemy. The fire kata also included a sub category for Lightning which was involved pinpoint precision attacks at the eight vital areas. The very last section referenced special attacks that each kata used, but that section was too badly damaged on the original scroll for Naruto to read.

That had been a month after leaving Konoha. With almost a full year of practice, Naruto felt confident that he was at least proficient, even if he wasn't anywhere close to merging any of the katas together.

"Huh? Is it really that late?" Naruto glanced at the sun's position, hanging low in the sky.

"Guess I should head back to the hotel before Ero-Sennin comes after me. He'd never let me live it down. This is a pretty good training ground, maybe I can head back here tomorrow."

As Naruto was preparing to leave, he had the sudden feeling he was being watched. Catching sight of something in the corner of his eye, he spun around and quickly scanned the edge of the clearing.

"Nothing. I must be getting paranoid," Naruto muttered.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Jiraiya asked with a raised brow. He'd been lounging on the couch when Naruto had walked into their hotel room.

"Just training. Found a clearing in those woods. It was creepy though, I kept feeling like someone was watching me."

"Don't tell me you believe those silly little superstitions the villagers keep talking about. Anyways, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Huh, oh just training some more. They may be creepy but those woods are the best place for me to really let loose. Why?" Naruto asked, curious.

"After you finish your training tomorrow I want you to find somewhere quiet and practice meditation."

"You want me to meditate? What for?"

"Meditation helps clear the mind and also assists in absorbing the memories you get from your clones more easily. In addition, a calm clear headed ninja will always prevail over one whose mind is clouded with rage,"Jiraiya instructed, almost looking like the sage he is supposed to be.

"Wow Ero-Sennin, that sounded really wise, who'd you steal it from?"

"I told you not to call me that brat! And I came up with it all on my own."

"I'll stop calling you Ero-Sennin when you stop being a pervert, Ero-Sennin."

"I am no pervert!" Jiraiya began to pose.

"I am a -'

"Super Pervert, yeah I know, you've told me a dozen times already."

"Stupid punk, respect your elders!"

Naruto , being the model of maturity that he is, responded appropriately.

"Thpbpbpbt!" By blowing a raspberry.

"Cheeky brat. Anyway, remember: tomorrow, meditate, understood?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya were enjoying a quick breakfast in the hotel's small lobby restaurant when Naruto finally voiced the question that had been bothering him all night.

"What should I meditate on?"

"Well, traditionally you should meditate on your navel, but I don't think your belly button holds any world shattering secrets."

"Really?" Naruto deadpanned. "Absolutely nothing world shattering in my belly button at all."

"Oh hush, you know what I mean," Jiraiya retorted. "Hmmm...Try meditating on the wind. If you listen closely you will find that it changes enough to satisfy even your short attention span. Nature has many things to tell us if we just listen; where water is, if it will rain soon, what different animals are nearby, these things are vital for a Shinobi to know. Most use some technique or another that requires chakra and can give them away to enemies. By instead listening to nature you can be a true Shinobi, a warrior in the shadows," he said, looking at Naruto's Kill-Me Orange clothes pointedly.

As Jiraiya observed his apprentice, he realized that the last year, while beneficial to Naruto himself, had been hard on his actual clothes. The neon orange jumpsuit had dulled ever so slightly and had several visible patches. In addition it was not nearly as bulky as when they had left, instead stretched taught over Naruto's frame. Naruto had gone through a growth spurt upon leaving the village, adding nearly five inches to his previously short frame of about four foot nine inches.

"Change of plans, we're getting you a new outfit."

"What, but I like my clothes! Orange is awesome, and it's unmatchable stealth training."

"Really, stealth training?" Jiraiya said skeptically.

"Really. I managed to paint most of the Hokage Monument in broad daylight before getting caught before leading the ninja that tried to apprehend me on a wild goose chase. The only reason Iruka-sensei kept managing to catch me was because he apparently used to be a prankster too, so he knew all the tricks." Naruto explained proudly.

"Iruka Umino? I thought he always caught you because he was a Sensor type.'

"Nope. Iruka-sensei does have a chakra sensing Jutsu, but when I was a kid my control was so bad that the entire village was permeated with it, kinda like that Kirigakure no Jutsu Zabuza used. Oji-san told me that as a result the ninja training to be Sensors while I was a kid were especially sensitive because they had to feel through the chakra I was throwing around. I always thought it was kinda cool, ya know? Me, the academy's Dead Last, helping to improve the village in a way no one else could, not even the Teme."

"While that is a pretty interesting tidbit, it doesn't change that your clothes are currently close to becoming rags, and while orange might have been useful for training, you're a hunted man now, so let's tone it down a little."

"True, so let's hurry. I want to get something productive done today."

* * *

An hour later found the duo leaving the clothing shop, naruto's wallet much lighter, something he planned to change that night by replenishing it from Jiraiya's wallet. He considered it more than fair with all the time Jiraiya had made him pay for things or "borrowed " money from his own wallet.

Naruto was now clad in a simple pair of dark brown cargo pants that provided plenty of room for practically anything he needed to carry. A crimson red t-shirt was visible under an unzipped forest green jacket that had a hood to cover his bright, eye catching sun kissed hair. The shirt also had the advantage of soaking up blood without appearing wet, creating the illusion of being final touch was trading out the light blue fabric of his Hitai-ate for a darker tone and applying a special stain to the metal so it wouldn't glint in the sunlight.

"So now that you've cleaned out my funds, again, can I get to actually training?"

"Fine, you can go you impatient brat. Just remember-"

"Meditate, you told me already. Sheesh! I'm ignorant, not stupid!" And with that Naruto leaped up the side of the nearest building and began hopping in the direction of the forest clearing he had stumbled across yesterday.

"Hopefully making him meditate daily now will knock some patience into him, and maybe even prepare him for learning Sage mode, Kami knows he'll need it with Akatsuki after him," Jiraiya said with a sigh. His serious expression took on a decidedly more lecherous appearance as he noticed his surrounding and, more importantly, the hot springs a pair of buxom young women were entering.

"Well, nose to the grindstone, that's me! I can't disappoint my loyal readers!"

* * *

 **Welcome to my first foray into the wonderful world of fan written fiction, Custos in Elementis! The funny thing is I never actually intended to write an actual fan fiction story until a night or two ago when I had this dream and it would not. Stop. Bugging. Me. What was this dream? That would ruin the story! Anyway, I'm hoping this first chapter is acceptable to everyone, so please leave a review telling how I did. If any experienced writers decide to grace me with their presence, some tips on writing fight scenes would be much appreciated.**

 **~Noxlux013**


	2. Chapter 2

The forest clearing was currently host to a battle royale. Clones lunged, dove, and dipped around each other. Kunai glinted in the sunlight. The slight buzz of a Rasengan was heard almost constantly as one blonde or another attempted to finish his opponent.

The clones had been divided into teams, each group was restricted to a single path for taijutsu but could use any of the weapons or ninjutsu available to them. Just the Kawarimi alone extended a fragile clone's life span in battle from a few seconds to upwards of several minutes.

Naruto was in the middle of it all, flowing around one attack, blocking a kunai with one of his own, leaping over another clone's sweep kick before plummeting down heel first in a textbook axe kick, dispelling the clone.

"One down, who's next?," he taunted.

Deciding to take the initiative, Naruto charged, Rasengan in one hand and Kunai in the other

"Yaaah!"

* * *

The forest clearing was once again quiet. Craters were scattered across the meadow. Here and there a discarded kunai could be seen poking out of the upturned dirt or from a tree trunk. In the midst of this lay a figure, utterly exhausted. He sat up, chuckling wearily.

"Well, I guess I'm going to need somewhere else to meditate. I kinda broke this area."

Trudging deeper among the trees, Naruto searched for an adequate place to rest and focus. Huge trunks surrounded him, not as large as those created by the Shodai Hokage, but far more ancient. The stories these trees could tell, if they had mouths. Or eyes.

' _Though now that I thought about it, there wouldn't be much to tell. I'm in the middle of nowhere, no great battles or mighty deeds would have happened way out here.'_

Oh, if only he knew...

"Hey, is something over there?"

A ruin came into view. The outer walls were tumbled down, and nothing remained of the roof. It looked as if it had been a temple or shrine of some sort, abandoned and forgotten in the undergrowth. The inner courtyard however, was remarkably intact. Flagstones ran along the outer edge, while short grass covered the rest. In the direct center was a strange squat tiled pillar close to a yard in diameter with smaller shorter pillars spiraling away from it, acting as steps. Surrounding the Pillar were four objects, set evenly around it. To the North a koi pond was situated, two koi, one pure white but for a single black splotch, one pure black but for a single white splotch, swam in lazy circles inside it, forming a living symbol of harmony. The South held perhaps the most puzzling, a brazier containing a lit flame, no embers or fuel to be seen. On the East side of the pillar sat a simple set of wind chimes ringing gently in the breeze, no rust visible despite being exposed to the elements. The West housed a large rock garden with stones ranging in size from that of a human head to the size of a small child.

"What...what is this place? Some sort of shrine? And how can that fire exist with nothing to burn?"

When no answers presented themselves, Naruto slowly crept forward, only to leap back.

"Whoa! What the-"

As he crossed the threshold of the courtyard, rings of light appeared in the grass around each of the four representations of the elements. The four rings connected to make a fifth ring encompassing the entire structure. Naruto froze, waiting for something, anything-animated guardian statues, explosions, some booby trap or another. Gradually he relaxed, his heart rate returning to a more sustainable rate.

' _Weird. Nothing happened. I guess the movies got it wrong, not every ruin is chock full of booby traps, though I am grateful for a distinct lack of Undead in any form.'_

As he slowly circled the glowing circle still surrounding the… whatever it was, he caught sight of a plaque on the north side largest pillar.

 _ **Approach Pilgrim**_

 _ **Open yourself to the Soul of Nature**_

 _ **Those Judged Worthy may become It's Keeper**_

 _ **Those Found Lacking will be Cast Out**_

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Open yourself? And what's the soul of nature? Whatever, it's not dangerous as far as I can tell and it's a quiet spot. I''l ask Ero-Sennin after Imeditate like he wanted me to."

So saying, he approached the central pillar and climbed the rounded steps, settling himself sieza while facing the wind chimes. Closing his eyes, he began to focus his breathing, slow calm, and deep. In. Out. In. Out. After a while he moved on from the wind inside himself and focused on the wind outside himself. Rustling the tree branches. Dancing among the trunks, an errant leaf in its grasp. Whistling in his ears, ruffling his hair. Tinkling chimes ringing like laughter. His face lost the minute traces of stress that had accumulated, becoming serene. He opened himself fully to the Wind, listening as he had never listened to anything ever before.

And the Wind opened herself to him in return, listening to the song of his very soul.

A time later-an hour, a day, a minute-he opened his eyes again. And met another pair of eyes.

"Aghh!"

Pulling himself up from where he had fallen off the pillar, Naruto rubbed his head, an airy, tinkling laugh filling his ears. A girl floated into view, quite literally. Her feet were easily a foot from the ground, planted firmly to what appeared to be a cloud-as much as firm can describe anything about clouds. The first thing Naruto noticed was her wind-blown hair, a feathery green-white, which just went to show how unique Naruto was. Most people would have noticed the wings first. Translucent dragonfly wings sprouted from her back, twitching occasionally with a life of their own. The second feature Naruto's eyes were drawn to were her long pointed ears. Finally he noticed her wings, eyes wide. These features, when combined with her flowing dress and efin figure, created a picture of ethereal beauty, unattainable by mortal women.

"Wha- Who are you?! What are you?!"

"Oh, where are my manners, laughing at the new summoner, and before introducing myself, too! My name is Aella, Aella the Wind Sprite!"

"A Wind Sprite?"

"You don't know? Weren't you trying to summon me here?"

"Uh, no, not really. My Sensei told me to meditate on the wind, and this looked like a good place to do it."

"You mean you summoned me on _accident_?!"

"I… guess so?"

"In that case I guess I'll have to give you the crash course. I am a Wind Sprite, a manifestation of the element of Wind itself. Everything from summer breezes to tornadoes are under my domain. This place is called The Shrine. Yes it deserves capitalization. This is the only place in the world that someone can connect with all four base elements. There are smaller shrines dedicated to one or two elements scattered around the globe, and even a handful with three elements, but this is the only place with all four.

When you opened yourself to the wind, you attracted my attention. I have judged you worthy of wielding my power, especially since your own nature is that of the wind. This means that, with training and experience, you could become the most powerful Wind user in history. Very few people have ever contacted a Nature Spirit before. The most recent were a pair of brothers almost a century ago. Both managed to get the approval of the Spirit of Water, but only the older brother obtained the respect of the Earth itself as well. I wonder what ever happened to them?"

When she finished her mini-lecture, Naruto asked some of the questions he had been wondering about.

"So I can use wind now? Does that mean I can fly?' He asked excitedly.

"You're better with wind techniques, better than you already would've been at least. And no, you can't fly, not until you have mastered the element of Air completely. Gliding might be an option though. I am here, in part, to be your instructor and to make sure that you stay worthy of such a gift," she corrected.

"Well, that makes sense, I that mean I could meet the spirits of the other elements too?"

She shook her head. "Not until you master Air first, and that could take years. The Elements affect the Spirit. It doesn't matter how strong you are physically, though being fit is an advantage. Mastering an Element is all mental. Quite literally Mind over Matter."

He grinned, it could even be described as vulpine.

"Mental only, eh? If only there was some way of multiplying myself so I can train more efficiently."

"Yeah, I wish something like that…"

Aella trailed off as the shrine suddenly got a lot more crowded.

A slow grin stretched across her face.

"I think I can work with this."

A rumbled filled the forest, accompanied by the clones dispelling themselves. When the smoke cleared, only a single blonde was left, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Maybe we can have dinner first?" he asked hopefully.

* * *

"So…" Jiraiya started hesitantly, eyeing the young woman slurping down noodles next to his blonde apprentice, and at almost the same rate. "Who's your girlfriend, brat?"

Taking advantage of Naruto's choking fit to finish before him, Aella wiped her mouth before giving a small bow, or as much as she could while sitting.

"My name is Aella. I'm in charge of teaching Naruto how to Master the Air element."

"I see." He really didn't. "And where did Naruto find such a lovely teacher?"

"Oh yeah, Ero-Sennin, remember those stories the villagers were telling? I think there might be some truth to them. Aella's a Wind Sprite. When I meditated like you told me, I got her attention and she introduced herself to me."

'Well, that's not something you hear every day. I wonder if the stories about incredibly strong ninja having been touched by spirits has any truth to them…" Jiraiya mused aloud.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked confused.

"Well, there are theories that bloodlines come from a family line being blessed by one Spirit or another. Others say bloodlines came from demons, but what demon would give something that would help humans?"

"Yep, it's true," Aella chimed in. "A long time ago me and a Water Spirit blessed a man and it gave him the ability to wield Ice."

"So, Aella, what kind of techniques will you teach me?"

"Well… get a load of this!" At that she flourished… a spiraling ball of air. She looked up to see two identical deadpan expressions, and two identical swirling balls of chakra.

"Yeah, I think we can skip that lesson," Naruto said dryly.

"Hmm…" Aella said, peering at the Rasengan. "Nice , but not quite what I did. My technique is far more stable, and if you can balance on it, it can act as a form of transportation. One of the first humans I gifted the power of the Air to called this the Air Scooter. He could even go up walls with it!"

"Cool! Where do I start!" Naruto was practically vibrating at the chance to learn such an awesome technique.

"Well,first…" She motioned him closer, and Naruto leaned in.

"You go to bed!"

It was a good thing the table had already been filed, or Naruto would have face planted into a bowl of dumplings.

"WHAT!"

She pointed to the sun, little more than a smudge on the horizon.

"It's late, and we're in no rush. Weren't you telling me you're on a training trip, anyways?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right Aella. But where will you sleep?"

Aella laughed, "I'm the Air incarnate Naruto, I don't need to sleep unless I want to."

"Well, alright, I guess. Just let me Know if you want a place to sleep, okay?"

"Of course. Good night Naruto."

"Good night Aella, Ero-Sennin."


	3. Chapter 3

It was a rather blustery day, Naruto noticed; clouds skidded across the sky and children were flying kites. He couldn't help but briefly wonder if it was because Aella was as excited as he was about the things she would be teaching him today. That had interesting connotations, like her anger possibly causing tornadoes, which led to Naruto wondering just what would anger the easy going Wind Sprite that much.

Aella led the way, not back to The Shrine, but instead to the clearing Naruto had destroyed yesterday. She finally stopped on the edge of the clearing closest to The Shrine.

"So, time for lesson one!"

"Oh, didn't Ero-Sennin mention this? Something about cutting leaves?"

"Leaves? No, no, no. You're going to be cutting trees. I want a path from here to The Shrine. Cutting a leaf in half would be useful for precision work though, so get a group of clones working on that. Have them hold the leaf in their hand and then focus on the air surrounding them, encompassing them. They must will the air to move, to slice against each other like a pair of blades and cut the leaf in half."

Naruto did as instructed, forming a group of clones that sat a little off to the side and began focusing.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?, I'm trying to form my chakra into blades grinding against each other like you said."

"No, I said to use the air around you to cut the leaf, not wind chakra. They're completely different things. Wind chakra has characteristics of wind, but at the end of the day it's still chakra. That means that chakra absorbing techniques still work on it, and it still is strong to lightning and weak to fire. By using the air itself, on the other hand, you can actually snuff out fire attacks, and attack undetected. There are some similarities though. Using your breath, or the movement of of your limbs can act as a medium for your attacks.

The people that lived in a country near here were famous for teaching the Natural Harmony taijutsu style to their academy students and upon graduation, sending their graduates to The Shrine to make contact with a Spirit. This, combined with their natural affinity for the Celestial Script, made them formidable opponents before they were wiped out. Unfortunately, I have no idea where to get the forms of that taijutsu style or I would have you practicing the Air Path while performing your tasks."

"Oh, really? I picked a copy of that style up a while back and have been practicing ever since. I wonder if this what it meant about special elemental attacks for each path…"

"That's exactly what it was talking about. Now, enough talk, get to cutting those trees. First cut them horizontally as low as possible. Then cut all of the branches before finally splitting the trunk lengthwise into planks. I plan on rebuilding The Shrine to it's former glory and lumber will be a necessity. And remember, use the air, not chakra."

Naruto nodded before stationing himself in front of the first tree. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his clones concentrating on the leaves before them. He could feel a breeze coming from that direction, but that seemed to be the extent of their progress. Naruto took a deep breath, holding in for a few seconds before letting it rush from his lungs. He fell into the starting pose for the Air Path's kata, letting himself almost float through the forms once, then twice, then a third time. Each repetition allowed him to relax more, acting as a sort of kinetic meditation. While he subconsciously went through the motions, he focused on the wind; how it felt on his skin, the direction it was coming from. Ever so slowly, he started to bend it to his will. Little puffs of air sent the grass at his feet rippling. The ever constant breeze began to pick up. As Naruto started another repetition he began to pick up speed, becoming more forceful. Finally, at the crescendo of the kata, he formed his hand into a knife blade before slicing across his body. As he did so, a crescent of compressed air was sent from his hand and impacted the trunk a few feet ahead of him. Naruto opened his eyes to observe his handiwork.

It wasn't much, maybe a foot long on a two foot trunk, and not more than a couple inches wide or deep. And yet...and yet. The sight brought a smile to his face. _He_ did this. He was the _only_ one who could do this. He fell back into the beginning stance.

"Let's do this."

* * *

A full dozen logs were sitting in a stack in the clearing, illuminated as if on fire by the setting sun. Nearby the branches sat in their own pile. A few had been used to create a small camp fire that was currently roasting a few fish. Naruto and Aella were leaning against the lumber pile, waiting for the fish to cook, and being tortured by the delicious smell all the while.

"So Aella, what did you mean earlier by Celestial Script?"

"Oh, I think you call it Fuinjutsu now, but in reality, it is the written language of the Kami and Spirits. That's one of the reasons it is so difficult for the average person to learn sealing, despite its usefulness. The whole reason that the people of Uzushio were so good at it is because they actually had divine blood."

"Wait, you mean I'm a demigod?"

"I'd almost forgotten, you're an Uzumaki aren't you? But no, you are not a demigod. The proper term would be legacy. In fact, most of the ninja clans are descended from one deity or another. The more notable ninja throughout history probably earned the favor of one minor kami or another too. The Uzumaki are in fact descended from Susanoo, the god of Storms, and sometimes seen as a bit of a trickster. Then at some point one of the clan was also blessed by Tenjin, the god of Scholars, leading to their reputation with fuinjutsu."

"Huh, that's kinda cool. Who is the Uchiha descended from?"

"Um, let me think...Hachiman I think, god of war and archers. The interesting thing is, out of all the clans, only three had gods marry into them. All of the other clans began with the child of a god. Only the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki clans were around before a god took a fancy to one of their clan members. But, there was already divine blood in the three clans' blood even before that."

"I guess that makes sense from what I remember learning at the academy about the Uchiha, they were always rather warlike, but what god was responsible for siring the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki than?"

"That's what's so interesting, no one knows. No one has claimed responsibility or even has an idea."

"Mysterious. Hey do I have any blessings? Or would I know about them if I did?"

"As far as I know, mortals usually don't know they've earned the favor of a celestial being. Other wise it would be chaos with people trying to gain the favor of the Kami. You actually have a blessing of luck in gambling from Benten. A few kitsune were amused by your pranks when you were younger and cashed in a favor she owed them. But that's enough discussion on divine family trees, let's eat.

* * *

The scene at the clearing is far different than it had been a week ago. The clones had graduated from leaves and were now attempting to cut boulders down in order to build a walkway. Trees had been cut down almost to the halfway point between the field and The Shrine. Naruto vowed to come up with a better name than "The Shrine" since he was rebuilding it. A separate group of clones was still cutting down trees, while others were pruning off the branches a splitting trees that had already fallen. A final group were wearing down the stumps by grinding away with a rasengan, treating it as a sorely needed control exercise.

Naruto was in the center of the clearing about to learn his first true technique from Aella, the Whirlwind.

"Now then, the whirlwind is a powerful attack, easily A-rank by your standards, but it does have drawbacks. The biggest is that in the time it takes to form and release the attack, even a mediocre ninja could shoot off two jutsu. Even worse is that there is no way to shorten that time, not even practice. To create a whirlwind, first you must begin to rotate the wind above you-not around you. Rotating the wind around you just means you will be sucked into your own attack, painful and embarrassing. Once rotation has started above you, then start leading it in the direction you want it. By the time it touches down, it should be self sufficient and no longer require any concentration. The idea is that you can have multiple shadow clones working in concert to create a mammoth whirlwind while you occupy the enemy. This is most definitely an army killer attack, but most high end ninja will probably be able to dodge it. Now that I've explained it, give it a try."

Naruto's first attempt ended up dropping on top of him. Luckily he had made it too wide, resulting in more of a cylindrical Kaiten made solely of wind, rather than the sphere of chakra Neji had used against him in the Chunin Exams. Aella deemed it a useful defensive technique, as long as it moved fast enough to snuff out fire attacks. Otherwise he'd end up turned to ash by his own defense. They christened it the Cyclone before sending a group of Kage Bunshin to practice and continuing with the Whirlwind. Once Naruto had the basics of the move, Aella planned to have him practice it by uprooting more trees for his clones to cut down to size.

"Again!"

* * *

It had taken a week for Naruto to get the Whirlwind up to Aella's standards. In the meantime his clones had finished processing the downed trees, and had made the Cyclone a compressed wall of spiraling air, capable of suffocating all but the most powerful fire attacks. Now clones used low powered Whirlwinds in teams of two, uprooting small trees while the larger ones had been weakened with wind blades before hand.

Naruto was now attempting to learn what Aella called the Wind Scooter, an unpredictable way to move about a battle field, and a fun mode of transportation. His previous experience with the Rasengan was both a help and a hindrance. Help, because it was practically identical; hindrance because it was pure wind instead of grinding chakra.

Aella had showed off a bit, rolling around the clearing on the ball of air, dodging in and out of clones. This of course caused Naruto to throw himself back into training even harder. Within three days the forest rang with laughter as a horde of blondes and Aella played tag among-and on-its leafy boughs.

* * *

"I decided to change directions today and teach you a few supplemental techniques."

Naruto was sitting cross legged listening to Aella. The clearing was empty except for them, all of the clones having completed their previous tasks.

"I am going to teach you three techniques today. As I show you them, create a group of Kage Bunshin to go practice, okay? One of them you'll work on by yourself, but I want to make sure you know all of them.

The first is a simple dome of air. It is extremely useful for filtering out smoke or airborne poisons. The size is adjustable, so it can encompass an entire group if need be.

The second is a collection technique. Even underwater there are bubbles of air. This technique pulls all of them together, allowing you to breathe underwater. It can cover just your head, or, once again, a small group. This should not be a bubble though. An enemy shouldn't be able to 'pop' this. You must keep a hold on the entire air pocket, not just the outer membrane.

The final, most difficult technique is called the wind cloak technique. By manipulating the air around you, you are able to actually bend light, giving the appearance of invisibility. Be careful though, while this technique does trap scent and sound as well, it also holds in heat. Overheating is a very real danger, so be careful. In addition, it doesn't help if someone simply runs into you."

As she explained each technique, Naruto spawned a group of clones, thoughtfully making the group that would be practicing underwater larger. He elected to practice the final technique himself. It reminded him of Ero-Sennin's Transparent Escape Technique, though Naruto swore never to use it for peeking like Jiraiya would.

The Air Dome was easily achieved in the first few hours of practice, Naruto's previous experience with the Cyclone aiding him. The Bubble technique was far clones would only breath in a single mouthful of air before dispelling, for which Naruto was grateful. He had no desire to know how drowning felt like. Naruto eventually doubled the size of that group, managing to accomplish it only minutes before it was time to retire for the night. Aella and Jiraiya had both instituted a curfew after discovering that Naruto would frequently train until he passed out. Naruto barely made any progress at all with the WInd Cloak, but was content with mastering two of the three.

' _And besides,'_ he reasoned, ' _it's only the first day. I've managed so much in only about a week. Imagine where I'll be by the end of the month, or even the end of the year?'_

* * *

If anyone had stumbled across the forest clearing for the next week, they would have encountered quite a sight. The entire field rippled as if viewed under water. The only person visible was Aella, who could still converse with Naruto despite him being invisible, and surrounded by clones. Something about impressions on the air around him, she told Naruto. At previously agreed upon times, the clones, arranged in rows in columns, would have the front row dispel, the whole group step forward, and a new row form in the back, with noticeably fewer distortions.

"Wow Naruto, by this point you'll have a firm grasp on everything I can teach you by the end of the month. After that will just be polishing your skills."

Naruto flickered into view.

"What?! A month?"

"Air is a very free spirited element. As a result, it is very unpredictable and has very few true techniques. Most practitioners would each have their own unique twist on the element. I know of one noble before air conditioning was invented who would show off his wealth by hiring local Air Adepts to cool his palace with gentle breezes whenever he had guests."

"Well, that's actually not too bad of an idea…"

"Before you become a human AC unit, I need to teach you the last few techniques. When you have mastered them, you will be able to fly, hover, or simply stand in mid air as if on solid ground."

"Alright! Where do I start?"

"First I must teach you how to enhance your movements. By using the air around you, your speed and agility will increase exponentially. If I understand correctly, there is another ninja that does similar with lightning."

"How are you going to teach me that?" Naruto asked, somewhat nervously. He noticed a predatory gleam in the Wind Sprite's eye.

"Why, by sparring of course!"

WIth that, she flapped her wings once, leaping into the air and creating a shockwave that luckily knocked Naruto over and dispelled the rest of his clones. Luckily, because she had launched an air blade at his head on take off.

He rolled sideways, avoiding another gust of cutting wind.

' _Okay, envelope my limbs in wind and let it work with me. Just like armor, but increased speed instead of protection. Okay, so it's the exact opposite of traditional armor, but the idea's the same.'_

As he pushed and pulled himself with the air surrounding him, he found that gradually, after several close shaves, one time literally, Aella's movements became easier to counter. Not slower by any means, but Naruto found himself able to react to them faster.

"Hey! How am I supposed to fight you way up there?"

"Stand on the air!"

With that oh so helpful bit of advice, Aella went back to her new favorite pastime, Whack-a-Blonde.

' _Stand on air? What...Oh!'_

Refraining from smacking himself, Aella was already beating on him enough, Naruto concentrated on condensing the air directly in front of him at about knee height. Hesitantly he jumped up, sinking a little before he focused on making the air as firm as possible, a very strange way of thinking indeed. Now running on air, Naruto began leaping as high as he could, forming and dismissing platforms just large enough for him to ricochet off of. His show of acrobatics had a secondary purpose of dodging the air bullets Aella had started firing at him instead of simple gusts of wind.

"Hey Naruto! Are You familiar with the concept of a vacuum?" Aella called out.

"A-whoa- A WHAT?"

"A vacuum, an area that has no air. As the a manifestation of the wind, I control the air wherever it is. I also can control where it is _not_."

With that, she began to fire what, Naruto assumed, where Vacuum spheres. Wisely, he decided they would be painful and continued to dodge.

As he continued to somersault through the air, now easily fifty feet above the ground, Naruto tried to figure out what Aella was trying to tell him _this_ time.

' _Can control where it is not...Can I do that too? Maybe if…'_

Willing the air before him to part, Naruto's speed once again drastically increased, his form blurring out of view.

"Whoah!"

Despite the speed boost, Aella was still faster, which made sense. Naruto wielded the Air. Aella _was_ Air.

Naruto adapted to his newfound speed just in time to listen to Aella's cryptic advice for the third time.

"Embrace the Wind, let it embrace you. Release the tether that holds you to the earth still and become one with the Wind."

' _Alright, let's puzzle out this one while avoiding attacks at one hundred feet in the air. I'm already embraced by the wind, and embracing it, my body and Air Armor working in harmony, so part one accomplished. Yay. Then 'Release the tether'… I'm still acting as if I'm on the ground, running, leaping as if on a two dimensional battlefield when I can move in three dimensions. 'Become one with the Wind'. One with the wind…hmmm. Maybe…'_

Acting on a hunch Naruto stretched out his senses. He could feel the air currents, affected by their spar. The tiny eddies caused by a swallow flapping its wings. Cold air gently falling and hot air quickly ascending, pulling clouds along the way-the makings of rain. He extended even further, feeling the great wind currents high above the Earth, the hot air that had been pulled from over Wind Country, the cold air drifting from Water Country, the air weaving in between the mountains that jutted up, Earth in the domain of Air. He went further, slipping away from his body. He felt everything. Everywhere. The wind that grinds down the mountain. The gale that tosses the sea. The gentle breeze that bends flower stems and the angry storm that topples the proud oak. He felt it all. He was it all.

And then, suddenly, it was gone. He was in his body, his mortal shell, again. Aella had stopped attacking, her expression expectant.

"Well?"

"Is-" He shuddered, gulping down air. "Is that how you feel all the time?"

"Yes."

"That's, wow."

He was truly flying now. Not simply standing, though that would be more useful when fighting, but hovering. He could will himself in any direction he wished, and the air would support him, carry him. He let out a whoop, swerving around the trees, and a smiling Aella followed.

However, he could tell, he wasn't able to maintain this state forever. An image of him sitting cross legged and floating everywhere crossed his mind. He snorted. A nice day dream, but as he was now, his connection to the Air, even after the last few weeks, was not strong enough for more than maybe five or ten minutes of unrestricted, boundless flight. Slowly he began to sink downward into gravity's grasp once more.

"You are a true adept now, Naruto. All that you require now is to practice and polish your skills."

"Thank you Aella, for everything."

"You're welcome, Naruto. But remember, we still have to rebuild The Shrine."

"I still think that's a stupid name."

"What else would it be called?"

"Anything but that!"

"If you don't have any suggestions then don't bring it up!" She reprimanded.

"Well fine!"

"Fine!"

"..."

"..."

"Want to freak out Ero-Sennin by flying up to him?"

"Sounds fun, let's go!"

"Hey, wait! You may be the Air personified but I'm not!"

"Well, we can't all be perfect," she shot over her shoulder.

"Hey! Why you…"

* * *

 **The third chapter is now complete! I would have had it done earlier, but a surprise family outing distracted me. So, what do you think? I left a few little references in that last chapter that I'm glad someone caught. The moves in this chapter were inspired by Pokemon (Whirlwind) , the different techniques from Avatar, and the cloaking technique is from a series that I really recommend, The Alera Codex. The Author, Jim Butcher, was challenged to make a story using two "Lame" ideas. Those two ideas were "Pokemon" and "Lost Roman Legion". Personally I don't consider either of those lame ideas, but whatever.**

 **Please leave a review if at all possible, it's easy! Just tell me one thing you liked, one thing you didn't, and something you are curious about. Remember, while I am te one writing the story, I do listen to my readers. The only problem is no one is saying anything yet!**

 **~Noxlux013**


	4. Chapter 4

"Cape or Glider?"

"Huh?"

Naruto was taken off guard by Aella's sudden question. They had settled down in the area of the shrine, with Jiraiya reasoning that one place was as good as another to train, and staying in one place would allow his contacts to discretely funnel information to him much easier.

"Cape or Glider? Whenever an Adept passes his or her final test, regardless of the element, they receive an artifact symbolizing their mastery. For wind, that item is either a collapsible glider, or a cape of sorts that has rings in it so it can be held open."

"A collapsible glider?" Wouldn't that be hard to put together on the fly? And what would it collapse into?"

"Actually, when not in use it appears as a simple bo staff. Previous Air-adepts would use either a cape or glider to prolong their ability to fly. The cape is actually a recent creation of a vigilante of all things. It is created from the silk of Chakra spiders. When prey are entangled a Chakra spider's web, it will channel chakra through the threads, causing them to harden. This silk is popular among Kunoichi for being able to turn a battle kimono into the equivalent of medium armor."

"Well, that's a difficult choice. The cape sounds awesome and could be used as extra defense if I had to, but Old Man Hokage taught me a little Bojutsu when he would visit me. Having a glider that I could use as a bo staff would be a way to honor him…"

"Go for the staff."

Jiraiya had returned from town mid-explanation, and put his two cents in.

"Oh?" Aella quirked an eyebrow, "I would have thought you would be advocating more defense for the trouble magnet."

He waved the suggestion off.

"Nah, now that the brat's skill in taijutsu has improved, I'm not so worried. Besides, a chakra-enhanced Kunai can easily cut through that kind of silk, so it's really only effective on foes under Chunin level. That vigilante of yours probably was dealing mostly with thugs. Chakra silk is still popular among the elite, but not for defense. It is, hands down, the most comfortable underwear material ever."

"Wait, really?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"Yep, when your life is on the line, every distraction can be a killer. You defeated that Inuzuka kid with a fart, is it so hard to believe that itchy underwear could cause deaths?"

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"Hey, Aella, where are we going to get one of these anyway? I doubt there are a bunch just lying around and I'm pretty sure there isn't anyone that could make one for us."

"Well… I wouldn't say they're just lying around…"

Naruto sighed. "Why do I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me?"

"You have really good instincts?" Aella suggested. "But in all seriousness, we could probably find some spare gliders at one of the Air Temples."

"Air Temples? How come I haven't heard of them before?" Jiraiya asked. "I have contacts scattered throughout the entirety of the Elemental Nations, how could they have missed something like that?"

"Temples dedicated to a specific element are usually founded in an area where that element is abundant. Fire Temples, for instance, are almost always near a volcano, sometimes even inside a volcano. Most people don't know about them because these locations are so isolated. Monks aren't the most sociable bunch, you know."

"Monks? There are elemental monks? Are they like ninja?" Naruto, as usual, wanted to know how the matter at hand related to his chosen profession.

"Sort of, but they focus more on the spiritual side of chakra, as opposed to samurai whose chakra has more physical energy. Shinobi actually have their chakra pretty balanced between the two. Most elements had at least one group of monks tending a to a shrine or temple, even the really obscure ones. I mean, seriously, Sword? Steel I could get, but Sword? Come on!" She shook her head before calming down and continuing her explanation. "Air monks generally focus on eliminating earthly attachments that would tie them down, in hopes of achieving the freedom that air embodies. Acolytes of Water on the other hand, strive for the path of least resistance in all things. Other elements don't have as obvious paths to enlightenment. I think Shadow involved hidden things somehow, finding lost items, ferreting out secrets, that sort of thing," she gave a half shrug, "And I've never gotten a straight answer on anything from a follower of the Light element."

"While this philosophy lesson is fascinating, how does it apply to the situation again?" Jiraiya interjected.

"I already told you, we find an Air Temple and see if they have a glider we can use," Aella said, "listen next time."

Naruto had his own concerns. "How are we going to find one of these temples?"

She waved her hand, "Don't worry about that. As the personification of Air, I have a connection to all Air temples. Even the floating one."

"A floating temple? How did they even manage that one?"

"Lots of seals that decreased the weight so a chunk of rock the size of a mountain weighed the same as a feather. Then they added a total of four seals in the four cardinal directions that would emit a gentle breeze."

"That must have been some sight to see, a temple full of monks floating overhead like a leaf in the wind," Jiraiya mused.

"Heh heh, yeah… actually it never got used," Aella said, sheepishly scratching her head.

"What!"

"Well the monks didn't want the land beneath them to be covered in shadows, especially since the temple moved extremely slowly, so they plastered a network of seals all over the temple. The network was supposed to bend the light around the entire temple. Unfortunately the temple sorta… floated away before the monks could board. Since the seals were powered by the sun, no one has been able to find it."

"What happened to the monks?" Naruto asked curiously.

They had literally cut the tip off of a mountain to construct the temple, so the monks eventually built a smaller, humbler, monastery there instead."

"As interesting as it is to hear about major architectural blunders, I have to ask how this applies to getting Naruto a flying stick."

"Glider staff," Aella corrected. "And I was getting to that. You see, while the monks never managed to set foot on it, the Breeze Temple, as it eventually was known, was completely stocked with everything that the monks would need-including staves."

"So how are we going to find an invisible, flying temple?"

" _We_ aren't. I am. Remember I am the element of wind incarnate. I can feel everything that enters Air's domain."

"If that's the case, why didn't you tell the monks where their temple is?" Jiraiya wanted to know.

"Well, first you have to realize that me taking a corporeal form is extremely rare. Most communicated with me through a high level meditation technique. The monks that planned on living in that temple were mostly initiates, and by the time anyone was skilled enough to speak with me, a community had already been formed and they didn't feel like moving."

"That makes sense," Naruto commented, "so where is it?"

"It's in what you humans call Lightning Country. The storms there have created a series of air currents that have kept the Breeze temple trapped for the last few decades. But I have to warn you, it might not be as easy as you think. The temple feels… off somehow. The very winds around it have an aura of malice. Some sort of corruption has taken root there."

"That just means we'll have to cleanse it! It'll be like one of those quests Jiji would tell me when I was a kid. What's the worst that could happen?"

Jiraiya simply looked at the stupid blonde in horror.

* * *

 **So, fourth chapter. Kinda on the short side in my opinion, but whatever. Don't expect updates much faster than this, I'm more a reader than a writer. On that note, I invite you to look through my favorite stories if you want a good read.**

 **I came up with another idea similar to this one but with Pokemon as the base. I had been thinking how cool it would be if humans could fight alongside Pokemon, but I didn't want to limit them to the four elements in avatar style. That, and I wanted Ash to use Dragon Pulse. I'll probably flesh it out later, I just wanted some feedback. I am going to focus on this story though.**

 **~Noxlux013**


	5. Chapter 5

"Ow."

Such a simple word, yet carrying so much emotion. And pain. In this case, the pain expressed came from being launched from a cannon.

A more in depth explanation may be necessary.

The Land of Lightning is a mountainous region. As a result, those that inhabit it are often isolated in villages and hamlets, tucked away between mountain peaks. Because most settlements are too small for a permanent church presence, religious needs are tended to by priests traveling a circuit. One such priest, resting in preparation for the next leg of his journey, encountered a judge that was doing the same task as he. The judge would travel from village to village, arbitrating any cases. The two agreed to travel together as there was safety in numbers. As they traveled the duo met a wandering doctor, and became a trio. As a set circuit of twelve villages was traveled, more and more people joined the group. Eventually the villages would declare a festival when visited, which caught the attention of a traveling circus. The circus's main performance was an ex-ninja from Iwa, who possessed a bloodline that turned his entire body, from skin to heart, into iron. The ninja would be launched from a cannon to the amazement of of the villagers, before plummeting down to create massive craters. The festival slowly grew in size and it was decided that, instead of lugging around an enormous cannon, permanent one could be constructed in each of the twelve villages, which by now had become towns.

In the present, Naruto, Jiraiya , and Aella had recently arrived in the area of the Breeze Temple, or rather, directly below it. Coincidentally, they were also near one of those twelve towns. Starting to see where this is going?

"How come I was the only one shot out of a freakin' cannon!"

"Because you're the only one that can't fly, of course!"

"And one of you couldn't have carried me?"

"..."

"..."

"Uh, oops?" the two chorused sheepishly.

"Children, I am surrounded by children," Jiraiya muttered, dusting himself off and stepping out of the small crater he had created on impact. As he made his way over to his charge and his charge's...whatever Aella was.

* * *

The trio stood at the top of the monastery, in front of the main temple entrance. They had already explored the lower levels which contained the gardens and stables that would have sustained the monks. The trio had discovered that nature had retaken the now overgrown area, and the descendants of domesticated farm animals inhabited it. They had been avoiding the main temple because it emanated a perceptible aura of malice. Unfortunately, the few gliders found were rotted beyond repair, and one fell apart in Naruto's hands as he picked it up.

The large stone doors were heavily weathered. One sagged, held up by only one hinge, while the other's had rusted solid. Jiraiya knocked the lopsided door off its hinges, puffing up in expectation of praise from his excitable apprentice. All he received were strange looks from the younger duo as they entered the temple.

The party passed through the entry corridor without incident and entered a large, circular room with a pit in the center where the floor had collapsed.

"I wonder what this was used for?" Jiraiya mused.

"This is the Audience Chamber. It is where visitors would be met by a monk to guide them through the temple. It is also where the Acolytes would gather each morning before being assigned their daily tasks," Naruto explained.

"How do you know that? I thought Aella would have the answer, not you."

Aella shrugged, "Actually, I'm only connected to a temple. I don't have any knowledge of their layouts beyond the general shape."

"It's all right here," Naruto held up a small pamphlet, where he had recited the explanation word for word, "I found it over there."

Jiraiya and Aella turned to see a small tourist kiosk placed to the left of the entry corridor.

"Huh, enterprising monks. Who would have thought? Anyways, let's get searching."

Naruto consulted the pamphlet map.

"Uh, Upper Balcony, Meditation Chamber, Storage was the room we passed on the way in, man we have a lot of ground to cover. Would they be in the Storage room, Aella?"

"No, only meditation mats and the like would be stored there. Glider Staves are more personal. I would suggest we first check the Acolytes' Quarters, or maybe the Elder's Quarters."

With a plan in place, the group started the chamber before freezing near the pit. The constant breeze and occasional ring of wind chimes were absent, replaced with unnatural silence. A sensation overtook them.

'What's this feeling? It's like Killing Intent, yet at the same time different,' Naruto thought as he broke out in a cold sweat. Killing Intent simply conveyed the emotional desire to kill, this was colder, indifferent, more like a complete denial of his right to exist. As suddenly as it came, the feeling vanished.

"What was that!" Jiraiya yelled, unnerved.

Aella was shaken as well, though she tried to hide it. "The malevolent force I spoke of earlier. It's stronger than I thought. It must have been sleeping and now my presence is starting to wake it."

"Is there anyway to suppress your presence?" Jiraiya queried.

"Well, I could take my alternate form…"

"Alternate form?" Naruto parroted.

Instead of speaking, Aella decided to show him. Her figure began to glow, shrinking until it was barely bigger than Naruto's clenched fist. The glow lessened, but didn't fade completely. Barely visible was a small sprite-like form.

"Aella?"

"It's still me Naruto, just fun sized."

"You aren't going to constantly getting our attention and telling us useless information, are you?" Jiraiya asked suspiciously.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Let's get moving before that thing wakes up all the way."

Aella settled herself in the hood of Naruto's jacket and the three made their way through rubble filled halls, following the roundabout path to the Acolyte's Chamber. Poking around the chamber, however, revealed little beyond moth eaten blankets and dusty bunk beds.

"Of course," Aella groaned, "the monks didn't move in yet, so there won't be anything here or in the Elder's Quarters either."

"We should check to be sure, but if there isn't any here, where could we find a Staff?" Naruto was starting to become discouraged, was this whole journey for nothing?

Aella thought about it. "Well," she started hesitantly, "We could look for the ceremonial Glider Staff in the Prayer Hall."

"Ceremonial Staff? How is it different from a normal Glider Staff?" Naruto wanted to know.

"As the name suggests, Ceremonial Glider Staves are usually only used during important ceremonies. Each temple or monastery only ever has one at any point. They are covered in runes that increase its affinity to the Air element and make it feel weightless to whomever wields it. In addition, there are also engraved brass caps on either end. It is said that Ceremonial Glider Staves were not just physical tools, but spiritual ones as well, though I don't know what they meant by that."

"Wait," Jiraiya said, confused, "why would this be in the prayer hall? Why not The Elder's Quarters?"

"Well, there isn't any physical object that can symbolize Air, unlike the other base elements; Water, Earth, and Fire. Instead there is a statue of the first Air Adept. No one knows his name, but his statue doubles as the holder of the temple's Ceremonial Glider Staff."

"Well, that sounds promising. So where is the Prayer Hall?"

"Up the ramp we passed on the way here."

* * *

The Prayer Hall, following the standard the rest of the temple set, was a very plain space, focusing more on function than form. A few long stone benches were positioned along the walls, leaving a large open area in the middle where meditation mats could be placed. At the far end of the hall stood a simple, life sized bronze statue of a man in traditional monk garb. In his hand Naruto could see a staff with clearly visible carvings on it, even from this distance.

"There it is!" Naruto dashed toward the statue, while Aella hung to his hood.

"Hold on Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted, a feeling of dread building in his gut. "Something's not-"

Naruto had just reached the center of the room, coincidentally standing directly over the pit they had passed in the Audience Chamber. The pit in which something woke up. Violently.

The floor erupted below Naruto's feet, flinging him into the air as an enormous thing, shrouded in dust, burst through nearly a meter of solid stone. The throw propelled Naruto forward toward the statue while the beast now stood between him and Jiraiya. Not that it would help, as the creature's entrance had damage the chamber, causing the roof to partially collapse and cutting the sage off from his student.

Naruto slowly stood, mentally checking himself over and finding little beyond a few bruise. The dust had settled to reveal an enormous, black and gray wolf. Easily fifteen feet from snout to tail and six feet tall at the shoulder, its size wasn't its defining feature; no, that honor was reserved for the pitch black feathered wings sprouting from those shoulders.

Aella wobbled into the air. "That's a Winged Dire Wolf! What is one of those doing here , and why does it feel so evil?"

Naruto kept an eye on the canine and asked,'What do you mean, 'evil'?"

"Winged Wolves are Guardian Spirits of Air. This one should be acting like an enormous puppy to meet me."

At this point the wolf moved, crouching in preparation to attack. As it did so, the fur around its neck shifted, revealing a sickly purple and black collar that pulsed as if it was alive.

"Aella! Is that collar normal?"

"What! An enslavement collar! Those were all destroyed ages ago!"

Naruto dodged the first pounce and began to tumble about, the wolf hot on his tail.

So how do I get it-oof!"

The Dire Wolf had been able to get in a lucky shot, slamming into Naruto. If it had been able to maneuver more easily, the beast would have already gotten Naruto with its claws or teeth. As it was, the room's low ceiling prevented it from truly using it s wing and natural speed.

Naruto flew through the air for the second time in as many minutes, ramming into the solid bronze statue and knocking it over.

"Owch…"

Naruto pulled himself to his feet before realizing the staff that had started all this was on the floor in front of him, glowing. He snatched it up and looked closely at it.

'The carvings are glowing, fluctuating between bright and dim, but why?'

Aella was currently running interference, distracting the creature while Naruto recovered and leading it all over the hall. He noticed that the staff would glow brighter the closer the wolf got, but why would…

'Ceremonial Glider Staves were not just physical tools, but spiritual ones as well'

Maybe…

Shifting into a ready stance, Naruto called to Aella, "Aella, come back over here!"

""Alright!" Swipe, dodge. "Just!" Lunge, Dive. "A second!"

Spinning around the wolf's head a few times to confuse it, Aella made a beeline to Naruto.

"What's the plan?"

"That collar, that's what's causing it to go crazy? Will getting rid of it stop the wolf?"

"It should. Enslavement Collars do exactly what they sound like, but that one is so old, all it is doing is causing the wolf to rampage uncontrollably. But how are you going to get it off? Those collars were made to bind to a person's essence, their spirit."

"I have an idea, but we need to wear it out. Can you keep distracting him while I knock him around a bit?"

"I can try."

Battle plan in place, the two charged the wolf as it overcame its dizziness. Aella came in high, bobbing and weaving, both in hopes of catching the creature's attention and avoiding any attacks that came her way. Naruto ran low too the ground, almost bent double as he centered himself.

'Calm. Fierce as a gale, gentle as a summer breeze. Just have to rough him up a bit, wear 'em down.'

As he focused, Naruto began to calm down, his mind blocking out everything that wasn't needed to survive the upcoming battle. Naruto completely blindsided the wolf, occupied as it was with snapping at Aella with its teeth. He swung the staff, letting loose a gust of wind into the wolf's side, knocking it down. It quickly leapt back up, lunging at Naruto in retaliation, but Naruto was already gone. Dancing around the snapping teeth and releasing little flurries to pester the beast, the shinobi lead the Dire Wolf toward the center of the room where there was more room to maneuver. Unfortunately, this meant the dire wolf was able to take advantage of this as well. One of its wings, which had stayed folded against its back for most of the fight, snapped open and clipped the ball of light that had been annoying it. Aella was knocked through the air before being abruptly stopped by a wall.

"Aella!" Naruto turned, angered, toward the wolf. He could swear it was smirking at him.

Holding the staff with both hands, he began to spin on end in a circle above his head. The wolf cocked its head to the side, wondering what was going on. It was soon answered. A stiff breeze springing up from nowhere was the first warning. It grew stronger and stronger, becoming powerful enough to carry small rocks and stones through the air. The circle became smaller, faster. The wind condensed into a visible cone between the two opponents. The wolf realized whatever was happening would not be good and took a half-step backwards. The wind was tugging on its wings, trying to suck it into the small but violent tornado that had formed. Shadow clones burst from the rubble, having bided their time for the right moment, and latched on to the canine's massive paws.

Judging his technique ready, Naruto swung the staff down, launching the tornado forward. The Winged Dire Wolf's claws scrabbled against the stone floor, trying to get a grip before being pulled in. Naruto held the technique, concentrating on the flow of the wind while he let the spiraling motion and occasional stone do its work. When the technique finally dispersed, a very different wolf was revealed.

One wing was bent, obviously broken. It was favoring its front left leg heavily and one eye was swollen shut. Welts littered its body. The beast was obviously on its last breath.

Naruto raised the staff again, focusing his own chakra into the staff while simultaneously coating it in wind. With a final heave he swung, firing a crescent of wind at the collar encircling the wolf's neck. The impact rang like a gong, the blade grinding away at the collar before it finally shattered, sending out a shock wave of malevolent energy that quickly dissipated.

The Air Adept sank to his knees, eyes probing the dust that had been kicked up. As the dust settled, he saw the winged canine had undergone a transformation. It's wounds had all healed. Wings that had resembled a crow's were now a mix of gold and pure white. The previously gray underbelly was now a cream color, while the black fur had been replaced with white.

The magnificent creature shook itself like, well, a dog, before approaching the shinobi. Naruto eyed the enormous wolf warily, too tired to actually move. His chakra reserves were the lowest he'd ever experienced. As it approached him, the wolf opened its maw. Naruto flinched back and closed his eyes, bracing for an attack. He need not have worried. Naruto felt something rough and wet on his cheeks.

"Wha-Hey quit it!"

Naruto had to admit, being showered with affection by a tongue the size of his torso was a unique experience. And slobber filled.

Aella had woken from the commotion and sprang into action, fearing Naruto was being injured. The winged wolf was delighted to see its other savior and creator. Aella was not delighted to receive a doggy drool shower.

"Quit it! Bad dog! No mouth!"

Her protests were drowned out by a deep rumble from where the entrance had been. Jiraiya had been reinforcing the ceiling and redirecting the cave in while they had fought, having broken through the final layer with a hastily spun Rasengan. He leapt into the room ready to save his wayward apprentice before freezing.

Naruto was on the floor unsuccessfully fending off a six foot tall wolf-'Were those wings?'-while Aella, having dried herself off, sat on the beast's head and laughed at the boy's misfortune.

"Something tells me I missed a lot, didn't I?" Jiraiya sighed.

* * *

 **So, here is chapter 5. I'm pretty satisfied with it, but I might be a tad biased as the author. If anyone wants to know the layout of the temple, search "Ancient Temple schley" and it should be the second image. Yes, I borrowed the layout from a D &D dungeon. Now, I wanted to answer a review by who said:**

 **"you know this makes no sense considering Uzu is an island there's nobody living there as the entire place was destroyed"**

 **My response: The map I'm using-which I have set as the cover image if anyone is curious-has the ninja village on a peninsula. Its location on an island is fanon, I checked. Before I checked I thought it was on an island too, I guess you learn something new everyday.**

 **I'd love to have everyone's feedback! I honestly want to know your opinions. What did you like? What didn't you like? What do you want to know more about? Anyway, all my American compatriots have a Happy Thanksgiving this Week!**

 **~Noxlux013**


	6. Chapter 6

Surprisingly, both Aella and Jiraiya put their foot down on keeping the avian canine. Aella, because it was a guardian of the air and thus had a job maintaining the air currents that spanned the globe. Jiraiya had a not-so-selfless reason: he didn't want to pay the food bills such a large animal would create. And so, with a heavy heart, Naruto had to bid his new friend goodbye.

"So...Now what?" Jiraiya drawled.

Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you got the staff," he motioned to where it was hanging from the younger shinobi's back, "so what's next on the agenda?"

Naruto turned to Aella, who shrugged, "Don't look at me, everything else you have to learn on your own. You are now at the Journeyman level, or Chunin in today's terms"

"Journeyman? I don't recall ever hearing that term before."

"Well, back in the day the levels used to go Adept, Journeyman, Master, and finally Grandmaster, of which there was only one in existence at any given time per element. Now it is Genin instead of Adept, Chunin instead of Journeyman, and Jonin instead of Master. The Kages would probably be the modern Grandmasters."

"It's much more complicated than that though," Jiraiya interjected, "as people can have differing levels in individual skills. Then there are positions such as Sannin,which is actually a title, or ANBU, which are focused more on traditional shinobi skills of stealth, espionage, assassinations and the like. These are not part of the ranking system, but rather branch off of it; Sannin are generally acknowledged as being second only to the Kages in power, and Anbu are usually recruited from Jonin level shinobi. You, Naruto, are nearly Kage level when it comes to how much chakra you have, but only chunin control over it."

"So the only way to become an Air Master is experience?"

"Yep, it's the same for today's Jonin too, right?" This was directed at Jiraiya.

"Yes and no. While there are Jonin Exams, they only happen every five years, which can be a long time when you consider most shinobi have a lifespan of forty years maximum. The Hokage is nearly seventy years old, which really help you comprehend why he was known as 'The God of Shinobi', though he always preferred 'The Professor.'"

"I always wondered why he was called that," Naruto admitted.

"As it happens, since we don't have any plans, Tsunade-hime sent me a mission this morning."

"A mission?" Now Naruto was curious, which was almost as bad as when he was bored.

"It's kinda a selfish mission, so it's off the books. Even though she became Hokage, her gambling debts still exist. Luckily Shizune has been keeping her busy so her debt hasn't gotten bigger. Tsunade heard about me letting you play at the penny slots and how you broke the bank there. She's hoping you can use that luck to make enough money to absolve her debts. There isn't any pay, but completing the mission will add one unnamed A-rank mission to your record and you can keep any extra money you win. Sound good?"

"What will you be doing in the meantime?"

"I will be finding out which nobles have outstanding debts to the casinos we visit. That sort of information can come in handy when dealing with people that try to maintain a certain image."

"Alright, maybe with a bigger ready supply of money we can buy some of the scrolls we've been seeing whenever we pass through towns."

"Oh, that reminds me, I have a technique to teach you that can copy documents. You have to provide a bottle of ink and blank paper, but the technique does everything else. It's especially useful for copying sensitive documents that you can't take with you."

"Oh, that's where that technique went!" Aella exclaimed. "That is one of the first chakra techniques, invented by the Sage of Six Paths himself."

"I thought he was a myth!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"Who's this Six Paths guy?" Naruto wanted to know.

"I don't really know much about where he came from or what his name is, all I know is that he was blessed by all the gods to fight an apocalyptic beast, the Juubi. No one really knows where it came from, some claim it was the embodiment of humanity's evil or pride, but the Sage and his brother fought it. Both had been favored by a multitude of celestial beings, and the battle between the three raged across the globe, rewriting maps as they went. But only the sage survived. He was the first chakra user, which is another mystery, for no god would have bestowed such a powerful gift on a mere mortal, and he traveled everywhere, healing the very lands he had ravaged while fighting the Juubi. As he went, he spread chakra, teaching those who wished to learn about all he knew, not just chakra but agriculture, construction, the arts! I'm told he was quite the dancer. He was the reason for an explosion of new ideas and inventions that spread throughout the land. That technique was one he created to easily copy books and spread literature. Before he began his pilgrimage, few were literate among even the nobility. Today even the common people are able to read and write, though printing presses are used instead."

"Huh."

There really wasn't much else Jiraiya could say. How are you supposed to react to learning that something considered a utility technique was made by the founder of the modern era?

"So if I'm going to be making the casino owners cry, and you are sneaking around doing mildly illegal stuff, what's Aella going to do?"

"Why, she can stay with you!"

"Won't she be a little..." Naruto struggled for the best way to put it in a rare show of tact.

"Noticeable?" Aella interjected.

"Yeah! Noticeable!"

Jiraiya waved his concerns away. "Not really, you are obviously a ninja even if you were dressed differently, so while they will be watching closely so you don't cheat, everybody's used to ninja being a little weird. And they will know if you cheat, they hire retired shinobi specifically for the job. Whichever form she's in, with wings or as a ball of light, nobody'll bat an eye. Though if she does stay in miniature, she'll have to stay close to you or some sore loser will accuse her of cheating for you-or try to kidnap her in retaliation."

"I'd like to see them try!" She said incensed.

"I know you could beat them, it's just not worth the hassle because then the casino would toss all of us out," he consoled her.

"Oh! Uh, guys…" she started hesitantly, "remember how I said you were a Journeyman?"

"Yeah, the equivalent of a Chunin, right?" Naruto nodded.

"Well… You aren't exactly there yet. Apparently you have one last Trial."

"What Trial?"

"Well, to become a Journeyman you must pass five trials; the Trial of Skill, the Trial of Courage, the Trial of Flesh, the Trial of Spirit, and the Trial of Insight. You actually passed a few of the trials before we even met, but when you connected with the wind, I connected to you. You passed the Trial of Flesh by enduring your former rival's Chidori, the Trial of Skill when you sparred with me and learnt flight mid-combat, the Trial of Courage in facing the corrupted dire winged wolf, and the Trial of Insight was also connected to your traitorous teammate when you realized his true persona. The only Trial left is the Trial of Spirit, where you must face your inner darkness-"

"I have to face the Kyuubi!"

Aella bonked him on the head. "No, I said _your_ inner darkness, not the fox's. It requires overcoming your own darker nature, and thus is also known as Facing the Mirror. I will warn you now, this is a quest of self-discovery, and you may not like what you see. Are you willing to take this Trial?"

Naruto straightened, squared his shoulders and nodded. "Yes."

"Very well. Meditate as you did previously, but inward instead of outward. That is all the instruction I can give."

They had stopped in a clearing some distance from the road, and Naruto sat beneath a nearby oak, legs folded and eyes closed. His breath slowed and gradually he fell into a trance, one deeper than he had ever experienced before.

"So what do we do now?"

"Wait," Aella replied.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the gloom. He was still seated, but his surroundings had changed into something he was mildly familiar with-the tunnel system in which he had encountered the Kyuubi no Kitsune what seemed ages ago. The water had mostly dried, only a puddle remained here and there. Naruto pulled himself to his feet and looked around. He could feel the malevolence that the Kyuubi unconsciously generated coming from one way, but knew that wasn't the right path. Turning his back on the fox's location, he began to head in the opposite direction.

Eventually he came upon a crossroads. Making sure he kept his back to where he had come from-getting lost in his own mind would be very bad, not to mention embarrassing-he examined the three potential routes ahead of him. Focusing on the feel each tunnel had, he was able to make a reasonable guess on where they lead; the right hand path seemed to have a connection to his sense of smell and the center led to his humor. That left only the left, which felt… off. That was the best way Naruto could put it; simultaneously repulsive and alluring. He took the left path.

Naruto continued to trudge through his mindscape, following the sickeningly sweet sensation. The surroundings occasionally changed-temple ruins, school hallways, even Ichiraku's Ramen Stand minus the ramen or ramen chef, to Naruto's disappointment-but eventually they always would change back to the same drab tunnel. Eventually, after some time-a few hours, a few days- he reached a dead end. The omnipresent shadows made judging the cavern's size difficult, but Naruto figured it was at least equal in size to the chamber the Kyuubi resided in. A single beam of light with no visible source illuminated the center, revealing a figure with its back to the entrance.

"So, you're here." The figure got to its feet before turning around, to Naruto's surprise. It was like looking in a funhouse mirror; a "Naruto" stood there, but different. Black hair instead of blonde, crimson eyes instead of cerulean, Naruto couldn't help but say, "You look like an Uchiha."

That threw the stranger for a loop. "No, I don't!"

"If you were scowling any harder or called me 'Teme' I would have punched you on principle," Naruto deadpanned.

Sighing, the darker reflection visibly composed himself. "If this is anything close to what Tsunade-sama has to endure when dealing with us, we owe her a huge apology."

"Tsunade-sama? Why not Baa-chan?"

"Because, darker half is a bit misleading. A better way to put it would be that I'm everything you aren't. Therefore, I actually have something resembling manners."

"Hey! I have tons of manners!"

"Ayame-chan thwapping you over the head so you'll eat ate a civilized pace is not manners."

"So!" Naruto said, blatantly changing the subject, "do we have to fight or something?"

"Not really," his other half shrugged. "You took off the rose tinted glasses when it came to Sasuke and aren't so naively idealistic, which were the two main reasons I wanted to beat your face in."

"So that's a negative on attempting to become the dominant personality? I'm pretty sure that's how this usually works in the stories."

Yami Naruto snorted. "I'm not some split personality, I'm a part of you. Just as much as you're a part of me. We may be different sides of the coin, but we're still the same coin."

So if we aren't going the 'let's have our fists do the talking!' route, what do we have to do, and what effects will there be?"

"For one, you will actually be able to carry a grudge over things smaller than a lightning-encased fist to the torso. Your personality shouldn't change too much, maybe a little pyromania, but if the old man didn't want that, he shouldn't have rambled on about the Will of Fire so much. That's about all I can think of off the top of my head."

Yami Naruto extended a hand to his lighter counterpart.

"We just shake hands? That's anticlimactic." Naruto commented as he grabbed the proffered appendage.

A flash of light temporarily lit the cavern they were in before dying back down.

"So, want to get Ero-sensei a good scare?" Yami inquired.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the title, but asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"Since we're merged, we can take on either of our features without any chakra use. I say we take advantage of this…"

* * *

When Naruto didn't move for an hour, Jiraiya wasn't worried.

When he didn't move for two hours, Jiraiya was a little anxious, but mostly annoyed.

At the three hour mark Jiraiya had resorted to pacing.

So, it's understandable that Jiraiya began to freak out when he noticed Naruto's hair was slowly turning pitch black. He hurried closer and began looking for signs that something had gone wrong. Just as he was examining Naruto's signature whisker marks, his charge's eyes snapped open. His charge's _blood red_ eyes.

"I hunger…" he hissed.

"Gah!" Jiraiya proved to be rather sprightly for his age and somersaulted backwards to gain space.

"For ramen!" Naruto finished."I'm starving! Do you have any idea how hungry soul searching makes you?"

"Uh, no?" Jiraiya replied warily. He wasn't sure what was going on. Was this really the Naruto he knew?

"Then that means you won't know when to cut me off!"

A loud thwack startled nearby birds from their perches.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas!**

 **My present choices for you all were either giftcards for everyone or another chapter. This was cheaper. I realized that I achieved my goal of 10,000 words last chapter. My next goal is 25,000 words. I'm also aiming for 50 reviews. Ambitious, but achievable-I hope.**

 **For the part where the ranks were described, think Padawan, Knight, Master, and Yoda was the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. An academy student, therefore, would be a youngling.**

 **Also, thank you for clarifying your review. Uzushiogakure is now located on an island off of the coast of the Land of Whirlpools in this story, surrounded by its namesake enormous whirlpools. That should work everything out satisfactorily.**

 **Sorry if this seems a bit rushed, I wanted to get this out today. Hope you enjoyed!**

 **~Noxlux013**


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